Authors: B. Rauscher, T. Olason, F. Welt, S. G. Bridgeman
Abstract
A decision support system has been implemented for detailed hourly scheduling of generation and reservoir operations for 12 hydroelectric facilities on the Menominee River on the Michigan Wisconsin Border. The hydroelectric facilities are owned and operated by We Energies (formerly Wisconsin Electric), and are controlled from the Iron Mountain Dispatch Center. Ten of the facilities are in a cascade, and two are on mid-basin tributaries. Two of the ten projects on the main river system create seasonal storage reservoirs. In addition to the 12 We Energies projects, Sturgeon Falls, a municipally owned facility, is included in the Vista model. Sturgeon Falls operates to flatten out peaking flows from upstream plants under an operating agreement with We Energies. We Energies provide the daily operating direction for re-regulation of the upstream peaking flows.
Historically, We Energies has developed both long term and short-term schedules using heuristic methods. However, the operating license for the facilities has recently been renewed and stringent operational constraints were added as part of the relicensing process. These constraints are intended to limit the differences between the current and natural flow regimes to benefit the indigenous fishery, but complicate the operations considerably.
Consequently, We Energies contracted Synexus Global Inc. (formerly Acres Productive Technologies) to implement the Vista Decision Support System in the control center, as well as in the office of the hydro engineer who oversees operations, to assist the engineer and operators. A new general constraint has been added to Vista to guarantee that the new peaking conditions are met at the relevant facilities; and in combination with the other water level and flow constraints, represent the current operating regime. The schedules are determined by Vista using large-scale non-linear optimization techniques, with the objective of maximizing revenues in the existing price environment, while fully meeting all environmental and physical constraints.
